Caregiver Recruitment Issues? Look at your Ad structure
A common complaint that we hear from senior care business owners is that there is a lack of caregivers that want to work. This complaint is followed closely by the complaint that caregivers aren't showing up for the interview. While daunting, these problems, like most others in life, have a number of causes.
In a previous post we have addressed a number of issues related to the "caregiver shortage" and we have shared our viewpoint on this being a general myth. As we have often said, you likely don't have a recruitment issue, you have a retention issue. Even though we have gone to great lengths to explain why a solid retention plan is more valuable to your recruitment efforts than any other activity, we still feel the need to address one of the key factors of a poor recruitment strategy... the job ad.
Having started my home care career as a Recruiter, I know there is little difference between recruitment and sales. Just as you need to sell your brand in order to successfully sell your services, you need to sell it to hire the right talent. Let's look at some of the most common applicant killing mistakes.
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You're blending in
Do you have the standard "Caregivers Needed" or "Now Hiring Caregivers" Ad? If you do, then you are likely getting drowned out. Think about it, if you keep it generic you will lose SEO by being too similar and you are also likely being skipped over. Try to come up with something that will grab an applicant's attention. A good example "Caregiver Growth Opportunity" or "Our Caregivers are our Priority". Get them right away and you are more likely to land an applicant.
2. Be Specific
Are you telling applicants what it is you want or are you taking the time to disqualify as many applicants as possible? The language you use in your ads will dictate the quality and number of candidates you will have applying. Instead of using the common "MUST HAVE" language, try describing your ideal candidate. Use term like "The ideal caregiver will be compassionate, punctual, kind, etc.", focus on what you need them to be, and get away from the finality of the "MUST HAVE"s.
3. Make it easy
Don't over complicate your application process. Let them complete as much of the application as possible on whatever online portal you use. Make it 1 link and don't make the mistake of having them fill it out a second time when they come in for the interview. At the end of the day, the more you complicate your process, the less likely you are to have people apply. Think about it, if you are already working and are looking for options, that generally means you are legitimately busy, the last thing you want is to overcomplicate yourself. You would choose the path of least resistance, and so will your potential caregivers.
4. Who are you?
You know who you are as a company and, depending on how well established you are, so do a number of others. Does that mean everyone will? No, it doesn't and you need to remember that. When crafting your ads, you need to be sure to tell your applicants a bit about your agency and, remember, like in sales, you want to make them see the value in dealing with you.
At the end of the day, you need to be sure that any potential candidate understands what it means to work with you. In many cases, your recruitment ad is the first impression they will have about you. Don't be ambiguous, let them know about you and the value they will derive from working with you and, most importantly, keep it simple and straightforward. The more transparent you are on the ad, the more trustworthy they will see you as an employer and this is the first step in recruiting great talent as well as one of the first steps in an efficient retention program.
Visit our website www.thebrionesgroup.com to learn more about how we can help you establish or grow your home care agency and for information on our live training events.
